Means for transmitting power



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

B. F. AUTENRIETH. MEANS FOR TRANSMITTING POWER. No. 394,824. Patented Dec. 11, 1888.

(No Model.) 2 sneerssneet 2.

E. P. AUTENRIETH.

MEANS FOR TRANSMITTING POWER.

No. 394,324. Patented Dec. 11, 1888.

I ley, B

UNITED STATES PATENT OEETQE.

ERNST F. AI TENRIETH, OE NE\V YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE GLEN COVE MACHINE COMPANY, (LIMITED,) OF BROOKLYN, (GREEN POINT) NE YORK.

MEANS FOR TRANSMITTING POWER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 394,324, dated. December 11, 1888.

Application filed September 3, 1888. Serial No. 284,448. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

.Be it known that I, ERNs'l F. AUIENRIETH, of the city and county of New York, in the State of New York, have invented a new and useful lm iirovcment in Means for Transmitting Motive Power, of which the following is a specification.

My invention, although particularly applicable to wood-planing machines, is equally applicable to any machine in which a belt is used for transmitting power, and in which it is desirable to cause variations in power and speed to meet the necessities of the machine, and at the same time to maintain a uniform speed after being set for that speed.

I will describe in detail mechanism embodying my improvement, and then point out the novel features in claims.

I have illustrated the improvement as applied to a wood-planing machine.

111 the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a plan or top view of portions of a wood-plauing machine, showing my improvement ap plied thereto, and Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in both figures.

I have only shown suliicient parts of a planing-machine to illustrate the operation of my improvement, and I will therefore describe such parts very briefly.

A designates the cutter-head, and B B designate the feed-rollers between which the material to be planed passes. These rollers are geared up to receive motion from a shaft, B The shaft B has mounted upon it a pul- This pulley derives motion from a belt, B", passing around a pulley, B mounted upon a main or driving shaft, D, which latter receives motion from driving-pulleys C C in any suitable manner.

In conjunction with the belt B, I employ a belt-tightener. This belt-tightener comprises, in the example of my improvement shown, a bell crank lever, B which lever is rigidly keyed upon a rock-sl'iaft, B The rock-shaft B is journaled in the side of the frame of the machine.

At the ends of the bell-crank lever are mounted anti-friction rollers 71. These antifriction rollers are so arranged that one bears upon the under side of the belt and the other upon the upper side thereof. \\'hen the bellcrank lever is rocked in one direction, it operates to let out slack in the belt, and when operated in the other direction it operates to take up slack in the belt. Of course the farther it is rocked the greater will be the slack in the belt, or the tighter it will become, as the case may be.

\Yith a known power required for operating the feed-rollers to obtain a required speed of rolls, and therefore a required feed, I first setthe belt to a certain tension. This I accomplish by a device for regulating the traction of the belt on the pulleys. The device comprises a bell-crank lever, E, which lever is fulcrumed on a pin or stud, 0, extending from the main frame of the machine. One arm of this bellcrank lever comprises a toothed sector, E, and the other arm thereof comprises a slideway for a weight, E The weight E may be moved to and fro along said slideway. The shape of the lever E such that a bend, c, is formed therein, which bend extends to the rear of the fulcrum of the lever. It will be apparent that when the weight E is moved into such position that it is immediately be neat-h the fulcrum of the lever no influence will be exerted by it upon the lever.

I have shown means for causing the shifting of the weight E into different positions on the lever E, comprisil'lg a rope or cord, 6, which rope or cord passes around pulleys e mounted on the lever, and also around apulley, 6 upon the stud c. A rope or cord, 6 also passes about the pulley e and about another pulley, e mounted upon a stud extending from the frame of the machine. \Vhen the pulley e is rotated, it transmits motion, by means of the cord or rope a to the pulley e and the rotation of the pulley e causes a movement of the cord 6 about the pulleys e and c thereby shifting the weight either farther from or nearer to the fulcrum of the lever, according as the pulley e is rotated in one or the other direction.

The belt-tightener is operated, in order to compensate for variations in the speed of the machine, by centrifugal force. Such force is derived from the pulley B during its rotation, and the means employed consists in sliding weights (1, which weights are arranged to slip freely upon guide-rods (1, extending tangentially between the hub of the pulley B and its riin. I have shown four of such sliding weights and guiderods.

Pivotall'y connected to each of the sliding weights is a link or rod, 1 Each of these links is arranged to extend reaiwardly, and is pivotally secured at its rearward end to a collar, (1 which collar is adaptedto slide freely to and fro upon the shaft 13 The collar does not, however, rotate on shaft B its rotation being prevented by a feather on the shaft B extending into a groove on the collar (Z Rigidly secured to or formed with the collar d is a peripherically-grooved wheel, (1", which wheel of course follows the collar (Z in its movements to and fro upon the shaft 13 Arranged. to extend within the groove upon the wheel (1 is'a yoke, d, which yoke has pivotally connected to it one of the arms of a bell-crank lever, d, fulcrumed upon a projection extending from the frame of the machine. The other end of the bell-crank lever has pivotally connected to it a rod, G. The rod G at its other extremity is connected to an upward extension or arm, G, upon the rock-shaft B.

lVhen the speed of the machine increases unduly and the rotation of the pulley B is consequently increased in speed, the weights d move outwardly by centrifugal force upon the guide-rods d. Such an operation causes the collar (Z and wheel (Z to be moved nearer to the pulley B whereby the bell-crank lever (1 will be rocked upon its fulcrum, and the rod G will be caused to move in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1. This movement of the rod G causes-the rocking of the rock-shaft B in such a direction that the belt-tightener will be loosened upon the belt, and the belt can accordingly slip upon the pulley B The slipping of the belt of course decreases the speed of the pulley B As the speed of this pulley decreases, the weights (Z move nearer the center of the pulley, thereby moving the collar and wheel cl outwardly and causing the rocking of the belt-tightener in a direction to again cause the tightening of the belt automatically. By this means a constant speed may be maintained by the pulley B irrespective of the material operated upon or the depth of cut.

The operation is as follows: XV hen a definite feed is required, the weight on the lever is set at a certain point. Vhen the weight is once set, the feed will remain uniform, no matter how great the resistance. This is explain ed in the following manner: *hen there is no resistance, or when lumber is not being fed to the rolls, the centrifugal force of the weights on the pulley B counterbalances the weights on the lever and therefore keeps the tightener at a certain tension for a certain traction on the pulleys to retain a uniform speed of feed. Now when lumber is fed to the machine a resistance is obtained, to overcome which increased power is required, and as the resistance slightly decreases the speed of the feed-pulley the centrifugal force of the weights is diminished, thereby tightening the belt and increasing the traction on the pulleys, which causes the feed to again assume its speed, thus again causing the centrifu gal force of the weights to counterbalance the weight on the lever, thus making the feed the same as when no resistance was made, If an increase of feed is required, the .weight is moved toward the outer end of the lever,which causes more centrifugal force to be exerted by the weights on pulleyB to slacken the belttightener for the set speed of feed.

The weight is calculated to overcome the centrifugal force of the weights on the driven pulley entirely when set at the end of the le ver, so as to obtain the greatest amount of feed.

Should it be required to stop the feed of the machine, the weight on. the lever is set below or in back of fulcrum, partly within the bend thus allowing no resistance to the centrifugal force of the weight-s on the pulley, and thereby permitting the weights to fly away from the center andloosen the ti ghtener entirely.

\Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with a driving-shaft and a pulley thereon, a second shaft and a pulley thereon, and a belt running 011 said pulleys, of weights upon the second pulley adapted to be moved toward and from the center thereof by centrifugal force developed by the rotation of the said pulley, a belttightener, and connections, substantially as herein described, between the said belt-tightener and the said weights, whereby the belt is tightened by the movement of the said weights toward the center of the pulley, and vice versa, all substantially as herein set forth.

2. The combination, with'a main shaft, of a pulley mounted thereon, a second shaft, a pulley mounted on said second shaft, a belt running on the said pulleysuveights upon said second-named pulley operated by the centrifugal force of said pulley, a lever and a counter-balance adjustable thereon to counterbalance the centrifugal force of the weights on the pulley, a belt-tightener, and gear-connection between the belt-tightener and said lever, and a connection between said belttightener and the weights upon the pulley, substantially as specified.

3. The combination, with the main shaft and the pulley thereon, a second shaft, B and a pulley, B thereon, a belt running on said pulleys, a belttightener for said belt, .weights d on said pulley B, adapted to be moved toward and from the center thereof by centrifng'al force, and a connection between said balance E being brought to an inoperative Weights and belt-tightener for controlling the position opposite the fulcrum c, Substantially tightness of the belt, of the lever E, arranged as herein set forth.

on a fixed fulcrum, c, and geared with said ERNST F. AUTENRIETl-l. 5 belt-tig11te11e1-,tl1e adjustable counter-balance \Vitnesses:

E on said lever, the said lever having an off- FREDK. HAYNES,

set or bend, c, to provide for the counterv ARTHUR H. GAMBLIN. 

